Snoop Dogg reportedly earned a substantial paycheck for his appearance at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Beloved by generations, the “Gin and Juice” rapper was one of the final torchbearers at this year’s games. View this post on Instagram A post shared by snoopdogg (@snoopdogg) “At the same time, it says a lot about France as far as connecting the dots and allowing me to do this. I look at this as a prestigious honor and something I truly respect,” he expressed, as reported by the Toronto Star. “I would have never dreamed of nothing like this. I’m going to be on my best behavior. I’m going to be on my best athleticism. I’ll be able to breathe slow to walk fast and hold the torch with a smile on my face, because I realize how prestigious this event is.” Snoop Dogg also took on the role of NBC Olympics correspondent, as reported by AFROTECH™ , leading to segments like swimming with Michael Phelps, traveling with the U.S. men’s basketball team, and cheering on athletes such as decorated...

Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. Americans aren’t the only ones prepping for another tedious four years under President-elect Donald Trump. Since the results of the 2024 election projected Donald Trump as the winner, tech leaders from companies like Meta, Amazon, OpenAI, and others have shelled out seven-figure investments to Trump’s inaugural fund. According to CBS News, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has donated $1 million and plans to stream the inauguration on Prime. Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, will donate $1 million, along with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who delivered an optimistic statement about the President-elect’s election win. “President Trump will lead our country into the age of AI, and I am eager to support his efforts to ensure America stays ahead,” Altman said in a statement, per The Associated Press. Elon Musk, CEO of X, Tesla, and SpaceX, and general pop culture menace has been a lurking presence...

Several Black women-owned businesses are making their way to JFK airport. According to TRBusiness, six small, women-owned businesses based in New York will now have a new home at Terminal 8 (T8) due to a $125 million redevelopment program. They were selected through an accelerator program launched by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) Airports. The chosen entrepreneurs were also offered adaptable deal structures and smaller storefront spaces to minimize entry hurdles and lower design expenses. “Helping local businesses access concessions opportunities at Terminal 8 is an asset for our passengers, who will enjoy products unique to New York that are made and sold by local artisans and vendors,” said Dominic Lowe, US chief operating officer of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, per TRBusiness. “These six local women bring the energy and enthusiasm of a small business owner to Terminal 8 while offering one-of-a-kind products, which are made right here in New York.” Lowe added, “Working with the...

Spelman College graduates who were friends first and then founders seconds are taking their nail bar to new heights. Kelli M. Coleman and Anika J. Odegbo are the founders of The TEN, marketed as Detroit, MI’s first modern nail bar. The two shared a common goal of embarking on an entrepreneurial journey to build wealth, which they brought to life in 2016. “So, Anika and I are friends and Spelman sisters. We ultimately met when we found out that both of us intended to attend. We decided to room together, and the rest is history, as they say. Both Detroit natives, I grew up in Southfield, and Anika grew up in Detroit proper. We come from entrepreneurial families; we really understand the power of entrepreneurship to create generational wealth. It was always our respective goals to own businesses of our own in addition to carrying on our family’s entrepreneurial legacy. That’s sort of the origin of how we know each other, and that’s how The TEN came to be,” Coleman told the Michigan...

The future is bright for top high school prospect Anicet “AJ” Dybantsa Jr. The No. 1 recruit in the class of 2025, AJ Dybantsa has already caught the attention of NBA great Kevin Durant , who is impressed by his skill set and has no doubt he will one day be drafted into the NBA. “I got to know him two summers ago between his sophomore and junior year in high school. He came to work out with us. I was impressed by his size and fluidity as a player, his ballhandling. He was shooting jump shots well. He’s got the body type to become a pro in this league for 20 years. It is good to be around him. He has a lot of energy, too,” Durant told Andscape. While there appears to be a foreseeable path towards the pros, Dybantsa will first be taking his talents to college. According to The Athletic, he has committed to Brigham Young University (BYU) located in Provo, UT. He also is the school’s first 5-star recruit, notes KUTV 2 News in Salt Lake City. View this post on Instagram A post shared by...

Taking into consideration its network of entrepreneurs, T.D. Jakes Enterprises has launched an accessible marketplace. In 2023, the social impact holding company set out to support underrepresented entrepreneurs by addressing a critical gap. Despite the efforts of stakeholders driving meaningful change, there were no centralized systems or platforms to provide comprehensive resources. This need inspired the launch of the Good Soil Movement in April 2023. “What we didn’t find was one centralized space where entrepreneurs can not only network but actually get access to capital, access to back office support, legal help, accounting support, business plan development, understanding where they fall on the capital continuum… So out of that, we created Good Soil,” Michael Phillips, chief operations officer of T.D. Jakes Enterprises, told AFROTECH™. Nourysh Good Soil has set an ambitious goal: to empower 1 million small business owners to generate $1 million in revenue each. To advance this...

A Black-owned pharmacy has opened in Toledo, OH. After seeing health disparities within communities during his residency with Kroger, pharmacist Anthony Pattin was driven to provide better access to underserved citizens. At the time, Pattin had already completed an undergraduate degree in pharmaceutical sciences and a PharmD from the University of Toledo, Toledo Blade reports. “One of my first projects was looking at African-Americans’ perceptions of vaccines,” he told the outlet. “I learned a lot. One thing is, not everyone feels the same way. I had a group of people who wanted vaccines but said ‘As a matter of fact, when I go to the pharmacy, they don’t offer it,’ and that’s how I found out that there are some pharmacies, even in their community, that didn’t offer that service. So that was a disparity — that you were saying that maybe they don’t want the service, but they don’t have it available.” While Pattin took note, the idea for a pharmacy was catalyzed by an elderly neighbor...

Despite earning millions, Lil Baby did not pay taxes for his first two years in the music industry. The Atlanta, GA-born rapper, known for chart-topping hits like “Drip Too Hard” and “We Paid,” appeared on the “A Safe Place Podcast,” hosted by Yachty, and discussed the financial learning curve. While he acknowledged having some understanding of investing and saving, he was unaware of the importance of taxes when he first entered the industry. His debut album, released in 2018 under Quality Control Music, marked the beginning of his rise to stardom. “I done got over $100 million from labels and deals. Not one time nobody still haven’t told me how to pay my taxes. Nobody even never told me pay my taxes,” Lil Baby explained on the podcast. “I always knew from growing up, like from being around, I heard people have tax problems, people don’t pay their taxes. I was doing it so wrong, my first tax bills was so high ’cause I was on some hustling sh-t like saving all my money. The more...

NBA star Jimmy Butler has brewed his love for coffee into a storefront in Miami, FL’s Design District. After teasing the concept for some time, the Miami Heat star officially opened his first BigFace Coffee shop on Dec. 5, 2024, according to Axios. The café boasts a chic interior design, a selection of merchandise including hats and jerseys, and an outdoor courtyard featuring ample seating. “This is a dream of mine,” Butler said at the grand opening, CBS News reported . “I get to come in here, chill out, meet people, vibe out, and become friends. Coffee is life. It’s how I start my mornings, watching my daughter play while I enjoy a cappuccino. For me, that’s the quintessential coffee experience.”   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by La Marzocco USA (@lamarzocco.usa)   Besides Butler, other basketball figures at the grand opening included Carmelo Anthony , Heat center Kevin Love, and former NBA guard Brandon Jennings, according to Axios. DJ Khaled and French footballer...

Popular streamer IShowSpeed isn’t afraid to turn down lucrative deals. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, IShowSpeed is a dedicated streamer who made various sacrifices to focus on his craft. One of those sacrifices included moving into his father’s home after receiving an ultimatum from his mother: quit streaming or leave her home. “Once I start something, I’m not stopping,” he mentioned on “Club Shay Shay” at the time. The decision has paid off, and the streamer holds no ill feelings toward his mother. In fact, he later bought a home for her after earning his first $1 million at 16. Today, IShowSpeed has 33.8 million subscribers on one of his YouTube channels alone, as well as an additional 27 million followers on Instagram (at the time of this writing). He also just won Streamer of the Year at the Streamer Awards 2024. While it is unclear what his exact earnings are, he confirmed on Complex’s “360 With Speedy (Morman)” that the $10 million net worth that comes up in a Google...

Damian Lillard just received back-to-back victories. The eight-time All-Star is currently on the roster of the Milwaukee Bucks following a three-team trade in November 2023, a news release mentioned. It has not taken long for the team to reach a major milestone. On Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, the Milwaukee Bucks were announced as champions over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the annual in-season NBA Cup, which is in its second year. What’s more, players on the team with standard contracts will be awarded $514,971 each for the victory, notes WGN-9 TV. “I’ve had a lot of experience individually where I’ve had accomplishments and stuff,” Lillard said, according to AP News. “But to have some team success and win something and be the last team standing in this tournament, it feels great.” Giannis Antetokounmpo, power forward and teammate, commented: “I’m so happy for Dame that we got our first trophy together. This is just the beginning. We have to keep on improving and getting better, and we...

Shaw-naé Dixon is behind a popular soul food restaurant in Staten Island, NY. Dixon’s interest in cooking dates back to her time in the kitchen with her grandmother, her website reads. She would continue to nurture her skills at church and a local soup kitchen. “My grandmother was a dietician for over 40 years, and I know that my grandmother taught me a lot of different recipes when I was growing u p,” Dixon said during an interview with Bon Appétit . “ And it wasn’t necessarily about the recipes and the food, it was about the technique and making sure that I could feed a lot of people at one time. “ In her adult years, Dixon first pursued a career in education. For over a decade, she was a teacher. However, she was pushed into her true calling of becoming a restaurateur after spending time in a coma. “Following a very, I won’t say difficult time, but a pivotal time in my life when I was in a coma, when I woke up, I said, ‘ Chase your legacy and not the luxury.’ Opening up a...

Reebok is making a comeback in the world of basketball. On Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, Reebok and the WNBA announced a multi-year agreement designating the global sports culture brand as an authorized footwear supplier for the league. “The WNBA continues to grow with iconic brands, and we look forward to Reebok joining us in driving women’s basketball to new heights and inspiring the next generation,” WNBA Chief Growth Officer Colie Edison said in a statement. “As we continue to capitalize on increased brand awareness, our work with Reebok is another step in bringing more fans to the game.” Reebok has been producing basketball shoes for women since the 1980s. Throughout the 1990s, the brand sponsored some of the best women’s collegiate basketball teams in the country and, in 1997, launched a signature shoe for WNBA player Rebecca Lobo. It’s no secret that Nike is the leading shoe brand among NBA and WNBA players, but other brands have a presence. As of October 2024, six active WNBA...

South Africa’s first Black-owned bank has hit unicorn status, POCIT reports. Tyme Group, founded in 2019, is majority-owned by billionaire Patrice Motsepe, notes Bloomberg. The platform was designed to make digital banking more affordable and accessible, and it has been an overwhelming success with online and physical banks throughout South Africa and the Philippines. According to TechCrunch, it has attracted 10 million users since its inception and reached an additional 5 million users through its Philippine brand, GoTyme. GoTyme allows users to create an account via its bank app. Customers can then receive an ATM debit card instantly and retrieve it at a kiosk. Tyme Group says it has allocated $600 million in financing to support small businesses and has raised $400 million in customer deposits. Now it is seeking to extend its reach in new markets, which include Vietnam and Indonesia by 2025. This will be made possible in light of a $250 million round led by digital bank Nu...

Investor and “Shark Tank” judge Barbara Corcoran has high praise for Kevin Hart. Hart made an appearance as a guest judge on the show during its 13th season alongside Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Kevin O’Leary, Lori Greiner and others. The purpose of “Shark Tank” is to provide a platform for entrepreneurs across industries to pitch in front of powerhouse investors with hopes of securing their investment. Speaking of the importance of appearing on the show, Hart said, according to ABC Audio, “If I can reach back and give opportunities to others, to people of my community, to the younger generation that is coming up that should be our future leaders of tomorrow and our future groundbreakers of today and tomorrow, why not? I’m not in the business of just doing it for me. You know, I think that’s the role that we all play when we get to sit in these chairs, is the role of opportunity for not just ourselves but others.” Hart’s expertise in entertainment and business has made him an...